We are thrilled to share our latest RAVEN news with you and to share some summer reading – oh – and summer powwows! Thanks for being our #1 support team.

YELLOW WOLF POWWOW INVITATION:

Virgil Sampson extends an invitation to everyone! Come on out to Tsartlip First Nation in Brentwood Bay on the evening of Friday AUGUST 4, and all day on Saturday & Sunday, AUGUST 5 & 6. RAVEN is very happy to be attending the Yellow Wolf Powwow for the second year and we hope you will join us. You will meet friendly folks and witness beautiful powwow dancing and drumming. Be sure to say hello to Virgil ☺, and all of us at the RAVEN table.

MEANINGFUL RECONCILIATION:

This excerpt was taken from Chris Corrigan’s blog post on Principles for living reconciliation meaningfully:

“We are all treaty people. Everyone in Canada who has citizenship is also a beneficiary to the treaties that were signed and made as a way of acknowledging and making binding, the relationship between settler communities and indigenous nations.

The ability to own private land, for example, is one way in which settlers benefit from treaties that were signed long ago, even if those treaties were made hundreds of years ago in other parts of the country. Canadian society depends on the ability of governments to provide access to land and resources, and that access flows directly from treaties. Not from conquering and taking. From legally binding agreements. You are a treaty person. The promise of Canada has never been properly delivered to indigenous communities. Over decades courts have declared this. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission declared this. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples declared this. It is evident in data and research and popular culture.

RAVEN’s team members Laurie and Ana were incredibly honoured to attend the Beaver Lake Cree Nation powwow in Lac la Biche this year. It is always a moving experience to visit this territory in Northern Alberta where the beat of the powwow drums remind us of the traditions from centuries past. How magnificent to witness and share in these customs!

As the grass dancers entered the arbour to flatten the grass, Ana and Laurie prepared to take part in the Grand Entry. Surrounded by hundreds of dancers all moving to the same beat, the power and connection was humbling.

There is so much to take in at this powwow - the smell of fire from the fire keepers tent, the initiation of a young new dancer who had just turned 19, the beautiful tiny tot dancers, the wisdom of the elders, the bear and wolf headdresses, and all of the stunning regalia. It is a real privilege to witness a powwow: if you have a chance to take part in one this summer, you should!

Thank you to all the elders, pipe holders, the powwow committee and of course Chief and Council for sharing your Beaver Lake community spirit with RAVEN.

CAMPAIGN UPDATES:

This summer, we RAVENs are proudly supporting current priority campaigns, planning visits with our Indigenous partners in their wild and sacred territories, and making plans for autumn events!

The Pull Together - Stop Kinder Morgan campaign created some buzz in the week leading to June 8 World Oceans Day with events all over the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, San Juan Islands, and Seattle. The total funds raised to date for Pull Together is an amazing $445K. The court hearings are currently set for the first two weeks of October; this fall there will be another push to reach the goal of $500,000 - including an online auction and some fun events. Be sure to “Like” the Pull Together facebook page to stay in the loop.

We are currently planning two fundraising events in Saanich and on Salt Spring Island, August 29 and 30, to support the Heiltsuk - Step Up For Coast Heroes campaign. Wildlife photographer April Bencze will share her incredible stories and images from the Great Bear Rainforest, and Heiltsuk Nation Councillor Jaimie Harris will describe how her community stepped up to fight an oil spill, and are now going to court to tighten oil spill protocols up and down the coast to protect the precious ocean that sustains us all. Stay tuned for details in the next few weeks: visit https://raventrust.com/heiltsuk-step-up-for-coast-heroes/ to learn more about the Heiltsuk legal challenge that RAVEN donors are supporting.

And finally - there is still no decision (as of the time of sending this) on the Protect the Peel Watershed appeal that was heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on March 22nd. That news, which we are eagerly awaiting, will be sent out as soon as the judgment is public.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT:

The People’s Prom awarded RAVEN a crown for our work for Indigenous Justice! Thank you People’s Prom for all of your gorgeous support!!!

The People’s Prom is the prom you never had in high school: it’s a radical, community-oriented, anti-capitalist, queer, cross-dressing, gender bending, bike loving, slow dancing, big dress wearing, good time. It’s annual, it’s in East Van, and it’s a fundraiser for creative resistance and direct action in BC. Interested in getting involved? Check out the People’s Trust Fund page for more This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..